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Birdie (Parkhill) Basham
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Upshur bids farewell to 109-year-old resident
David Basham said Monday that he did not recall his 109-year-old mom, Birdie Basham, crediting anything for her long life.
"She was a very religious woman," Basham said. "In my mind, that was a lot of it. The good Lord wanted her to be here for more people to get to know her."
Birdie Basham widely considered to have been the oldest Upshur County resident died Nov. 9 in Gilmer. Her graveside services were Monday at Sunset Memorial Park. Basham would have been 110 on Dec. 28.
Born in 1897 in Saint Jo as Birdie Parkhill, she grew up to marry Pane Basham, and the two eventually left for the Texas Panhandle, where he became a cotton farmer for awhile. Eventually, the couple moved to Tulsa, where he sold cars and insurance.
"She worked at (Street's Department Store) in Tulsa," David Basham said. "She was an alteration lady for several years. But after my father died (after nearly 50 years of marriage), she moved back to Texas."
This past December, Basham celebrated her 109th birthday party with family and the staff at Upshur Manor Nursing Home, where she had been a resident for several years. A nurse administrator said at the time that Basham had been walking around and working crossword puzzles up until she was about 107.
Basham is survived by her son and his wife, Audrey Basham, two grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, W.P. Basham, son Billy Basham and one grandchild.
"She was a wonderful woman a good Christian woman all of her life," David Basham said. "She was very kind to everybody."
***
In Birdie Basham's lifetime
1901: President McKinley assassinated
1903: Wright brothers' first powered flight
1920: 19th Amendment passed, allowing women to vote
1942: Women's Army Corps established
1961: Berlin Wall built
1978: Women's Army Corps absorbed into regular military
1989: Berlin Wall dismantled
1994: Banks and malls arrive on the Internet
2007: Nancy Pelosi is the first female Speaker of the House
Born on Dec. 28, 1897, Birdie Basham lived through 19 of 43 U.S. presidents. Widely believed to have been the oldest living Upshur County resident, Basham was also among the 80 or so oldest persons living in the U.S, according to the Gerontology Research Group.
Jerry D. Adair
Ex-hospital chief Adair dies at 61
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Jerry D. Adair blended a strong will, clear thinking and egalitarian convictions to bring an ever expanding array of top medical care to Longview, friends of the late hospital chief said Wednesday afternoon.
Adair died Wednesday, eight days after citing terminal cancer in stepping down as president and chief executive officer of Good Shepherd Health System, which operates Good Shepherd Medical Center.
He was 61.
"It's really a sad day for Longview," Mayor Jay Dean said. "Jerry Adair will go down in the history of our community as being one of the leading forces behind revolutionizing Longview's medical services and helping to make Longview the medical provider for East Texas that we are today."
In addition to leading a massive expansion at the former county hospital on Fourth Street at East Marshall Avenue, Adair was passionate in securing construction of Good Shepherd's Institute for Healthy Living. Groundbreaking for the education, preventative medicine and outpatient rehab campus on Hawkins Parkway was last summer.
"He was a visionary in every respect," Dean said.
Pat Florence, chairwoman of the Good Shepherd Medical Center board and member of the Good Shepherd Health System board, described Adair as a leader who welcomed input.
"I was always impressed, and just amazed, that no matter what kind of issue he had (before him), he would find a solution," she said. "He had such a passion for ensuring every single person received quality medical care."
Mark Boon, a fellow hospital board member, also said Adair insisted all residents have access to good care.
"He was committed to providing quality health care for our entire community not only the 'up and in' but also the 'down and out,' " Boon said.
Adair also was passionate about the Dallas Cowboys and his alma mater Duke basketball team.
"If they (Duke) were in the Final Four, he had some horns, Blue (Devil) Duke horns, that he wore to Rotary," Boon said.
Funeral services are set for noon Monday at First United Methodist Church, 400 N. Fredonia St. Visitation is 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday at Rader Funeral Home of Longview.
Adair's family has requested that memorials be made on his behalf to the Good Shepherd Foundation for the Institute for Healthy Living. The mailing address is 700 E. Marshall Ave., 75601.
State Rep. Tommy Merritt said, "Jerry Adair was a visionary. He was a dedicated, loyal and hard-working community activist."
Arbella Perkins Ewings
Arbella Perkins Ewings, considered the oldest Texan, dead at 114
DALLAS One of the oldest people in the world, Arbella Perkins Ewings, died Saturday at a Dallas retirement home. She was 114.
She celebrated her birthday March 13 with a proclamation from Mayor Tom Leppert, speeches by friends and family. She blew out all 114 candles on her birthday cake.
But during the party, she warned those attending that she wouldn't be around much longer.
Ewings died Saturday at Grace Presbyterian Village, according to a spokeswoman for Evergreen Funeral Home, where arrangements are pending.
"She was telling everyone, 'It's time to meet my maker,'" Sabrina Porter, the retirement home's executive director, told The Dallas Morning News. "She died very peacefully about noon Saturday. It was a blessing that she went so peacefully."
At the time of her death, Ewings was the oldest person in Texas, the second-oldest American and the third-oldest person in the world, according to the Gerontology Research Group, a California group that tracks the world's oldest people.
As of March 1, the organization had validated 81 "supercentenarians" who were 110 years or older. The oldest, Edna Parker of Indiana, will turn 115 in April, and the second-oldest, Maria de Jesus of Portugal, turned 114 last September.
Ewings was born March 13, 1894, on a Freestone County farm, the fourth oldest of 12 children whose great-grandparents had been slaves in Mississippi. She married
Frank Ewings in 1915, and they moved to South Dallas in 1936, where she worked as a housekeeper until the 1960s.
Frank Ewings died in 1977, and the couple's only daughter, Claudia, died in 1970.
"She told me once that the secret to a long life is she spent six months minding her own business and six months leaving other people alone," said Ruby Perkins Williams, a great-grandniece.
Ewings was proud of being able to care for herself and her 900-square-foot home well after she turned 100.
"She was absolutely meticulous about everything: her home, her clothes, her yard," said Ken Smith, a longtime South Dallas neighbor. "Dirt just could not light anywhere near her. It wasn't allowed."
She kept gardenias in her front yard and served up juicy hamburgers from the grill.
She was forced to move into the retirement home after she fell and broke her hip at a family party to celebrate her 113th birthday.
Besides eight generations of nieces and nephews, Ewings is survived by a sister, Annie Lee Perkins, who at 103 is her lone surviving sibling. She lives in a nursing home in Streetman, Texas.
Johnny Daniel Villasenor III
Longview teenager, police officer's son, dies in car wreck
Monday, March 24, 2008
Services are pending for a Longview teen who died in a car wreck this weekend.
Johnny Daniel Villasenor III, 19, died Saturday at the scene of a one-vehicle crash on High Street near West Luckett Street, police said. The wreck occurred around 3:30 a.m.
A passenger, 19-year-old Martνn Vasquez, was released Sunday from Good Shepherd Medical Center, the house supervisor reported.
Police said Villasenor lost control of a 2006 Hyundai Tiburon while driving north on High Street.
The car went into a spin and slid backward into a metal sign, police said.
Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Arthur Fort pronounced Villasenor dead at the scene.
The judge said the teen is the son of Longview police officer Johnny Villasenor Jr.
Villasenor was a member of the Longview All-Stars baseball squad that won the Dixie Boys 13-year-old World Series in 2002.
Services are pending at Rader Funeral Home of Longview.
Gary Richard Williams
Wrestling manager Playboy Gary Hart dies at 66
EULESS, Texas Gary Richard Williams, better known as pro wrestler and manager Playboy Gary Hart, has died at age 66.
Williams, of Euless, died of heart disease Sunday in a Bedford hospital, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office.
World Wrestling Entertainment credits Williams with propelling wrestling to international heights by establishing a rivalry between famed Texas wrestling family the Von Erichs and the Fabulous Freebirds.
"He was probably one of the five greatest managers of all time," said Dave Meltzer, publisher of trade publication Wrestling Observer.
Born in Evansville, Ind., Williams' career spanned four decades. He began wrestling in the 1960s in Illinois and Wisconsin, according to World Wrestling Entertainment. He went on to manage Bruiser Brody, Abdullah the Butcher, Gentleman Chris Adams and others, the WWE said.
Williams met his wife, Gloria, after a match in the Fort Worth Stockyards. The best man at their 1968 wedding was the masked wrestler known as The Spoiler, said Gloria Williams, of Crowley.
"He was a wonderful human being. He was a great dad. He was very loving, caring all of the above," said Gloria Williams, who said they remained close despite their separation.
Gary Williams is survived by his sons, Jason and Chad, both of Euless; mother Sadie Williams of Evansville, Ind.; brother Guy Williams of Indiana; and sisters Norma Moorehead and Fern Egan, both of Indiana.
George E. "Buddy" West
Date of Birth: Friday, October 09, 1936
Date of Death: Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Veteran West Texas lawmaker dies
West served eight terms in state House
Republican state Rep. Buddy West died early Wednesday in an Odessa hospice, a funeral home employee said. He was 71.
West, who served eight terms in the Texas House, had been suffering from kidney problems and began dialysis in December.
A retired safety engineer, West lost his re-election bid during an April runoff with Odessa attorney and former judge Tryon Lewis. His current term expires at the end of the year.
In an interview with The Associated Press shortly after the runoff loss, West said he took consolation in what the defeat meant.
"We're really happy because we know we're going to get to spend a whole lot more time with our grandchildren. We've got eight of them now," he said.
Relations between West and House Speaker Tom Craddick, whose Midland district neighbors West's, had been icy in recent years. But after West told his House colleagues at the end of last year's session that he was ill and might not return to Austin, Craddick filed a House resolution honoring West for his service.
West was first elected to the Texas House in 1992 to represent Ector, Andrews and Winkler counties. Most recently, he served on the House Environmental Regulation and Law Enforcement committees.
During this year's primary battle, Lewis accused West of not having filed any significant bills related to education, illegal immigration, water rights, tax reform or domestic violence.
Gov. Rick Perry ordered flags at the Capitol complex lowered through Friday, when West will be buried.
A memorial service is scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday at the Texas State cemetery in Austin, followed by a reception there.
Harold Barefoot Sanders Jr.
Federal Judge Barefoot Sanders dies at 83
DALLAS U.S. District Judge Barefoot Sanders, who presided over more than two decades of litigation to desegregate Dallas schools, died Sunday. He was 83.
Sanders died of natural causes at his home surrounded by his wife and four children, said Karen Mitchell, U.S. district clerk for the Northern District of Texas.
Sanders, who served in the Justice Department during the Lyndon B. Johnson administration, was senior district judge for the Northern District. He was appointed by President Carter in 1979.
"Barefoot was such a special person because he was comfortable with the powerful but cared about everyone," Chief Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater said in a written statement. "On his way to his chambers to issue an important ruling, he would stop to ask the court security officer whom he knew by name about his mother's surgery. And he really cared about both of them."
Sanders took over a Dallas public schools desegregation case in 1981, presiding until its closure in 2003. Sanders' positions on the case sometimes made him the target of hostile phone calls and letters. He said the city was accustomed to segregation, and many whites were content with the status quo.
"It was, to some extent, hostile, but not to the extent of being violent," Sanders said in January 2006 upon receiving the Martin Luther King Jr. Justice Award.
The case began in 1970 when a black parent, Sam Tasby, sued the Dallas Independent School District for forcing his children to attend minority schools that were farther from his home than several white schools.
Sanders veered away from the idea of busing black children to white schools as a solution to segregation. Instead, he approved the creation of magnet schools that would offer premier academic programs in minority neighborhoods, and would be attractive to both black and white students.
Dallas lawyer Scott M. McElhaney clerked for Sanders in 1992 and 1993 and called it "the best job I ever had or ever will have."
"He was a true public servant, he really loved serving the country as he did. Working for him was great because he inspired you to do your best as well," he said.
Sanders practiced law for many years in Dallas and served in the Texas House of Representatives from 1952 to 1958.
"Universally admired for his intellect, impartiality, kindness and courage, Judge Sanders made us proud to be lawyers specifically, Dallas lawyers. This is a profound loss to our association and to our profession," said Frank E. Stevenson II, president of the Dallas Bar Association.
In 1961, President Kennedy appointed Sanders U.S. attorney for the Northern District. He was in Kennedy's Dallas motorcade on the day of the assassination and tracked down Judge Sarah T. Hughes to administer the presidential oath to Johnson aboard Air Force One.
From 1965 to 1967, he was an assistant deputy attorney general and then assistant attorney general in Washington. In 1967, President Johnson named Sanders as his legislative counsel, and he served in the White House until returning to Dallas in 1969.
In 1972, Sanders defeated former U.S. Sen. Ralph Yarborough in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate, but lost to Republican John Tower in the general election.
Sanders was born Harold Barefoot Sanders Jr. He attended high school in Dallas and received his law degree from the University of Texas in 1950.
Survivors include his wife of 55 years, Jan Scurlock Sanders; four children; and 10 grandchildren.
A memorial service is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon in Dallas.
Eddie G. Templeton
Date of Birth: Wednesday October 09, 1946
Date of Death: Tuesday September 30, 2008
'Godfather of gospel music' dies
Friends remember Templeton as mentor to area musicians
The Longview chapter of the Texas Mass Choir has postponed a concert indefinitely as friends and family mourn the death of the chapter president, the Rev. Eddie Templeton.
"He was a Godly, loving man," said his wife, Jo Ann Templeton. "He was a great husband, a great father, a friend to all mankind, a humble servant of God. There's just so much that I could say so many things that he was."
Templeton, 61, died Tuesday of congestive heart failure. He was the minister of music at Galilee Baptist Church in Longview.
"Longview, Texas and America has lost a great soul, who had a great impact on anybody he met," said the Rev. Lamar F. Jones, pastor of Galilee Baptist Church in Hallsville. "We're going to miss him. We have a lot of great things that we can thank God he was able to do while he was here."
Templeton was on the board of directors of the Gospel Music Workshop of America, was a member of the Longview Ministerial Alliance, and was a board member for the Stellar Awards, a gospel awards show. He also owned Rev. E.T. Gospel Music Store on Eastman Road in Longview.
"We call him the godfather of gospel music here in Longview," said Rodney Hawley. "He mentored and took all of the musicians in the area under his wing and trained us. He was really like a father to us in the music ministry."
Templeton began playing the piano at an early age, and his mother discovered he had an unusually gifted ear for music.
"He could just listen to something and pick it up," his wife said. "It was God's gift to him. It one of God's many gifts that he gave to him."
Templeton was preparing the Longview chapter of the Texas Mass Choir for concert Oct. 11. The concert has been postponed until further notice, said Sheryl Thomas, chapter member.
"He was a father figure to all of us," Thomas said. "He always had encouraging words to say. No matter how bad he felt, he always had a smile on his face when he greeted you."
The Rev. Monroe Henderson said it was an honor to play alongside Templeton at Galilee Baptist Church. Templeton played the organ while Henderson was on the piano.
"He was a loving person, a big-hearted person," Henderson said.
"He'd give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. He was always trying to help someone, especially if it had something to do with the musical field. He'd help you in any way he could."
Templeton is survived by his wife; a daughter, Ckesa Templeton; a son, Trai Johnson; his mother, Cora Templeton; and siblings, nieces and nephews.
Funeral services are pending with Stanmore Funeral Home.
David Harper Abernathy
Date of Birth: Monday July 29, 1912
Date of Death: Wednesday September 24, 2008
Longtime Pittsburg mayor dies
One of Pittsburg's hometown heroes died Wednesday morning, leaving behind a community to which he had dedicated much of his life.
David H. Abernathy, 96, is remembered for the many accomplishments he made during his 52 years as Pittsburg's mayor. He was at home early Wednesday when he died of natural causes.
"He was just a good mentor," Abernathy's son, Walter David Abernathy, said Wednesday. "He was very busy as we were growing up, but he was a fabulous role model for community service, for giving back to your community, state and country."
The former mayor is survived by his wife, Laverne Abernathy, his son, and two daughters, Mary Lou Spradling and Betty Ann Harrel.
"He was just a go-getter," his son said. "He would initiate programs and follow them through. Dogged determination kept him going with projects."
Abernathy's achievements touch numerous aspects of the city and beyond: He helped start the Northeast Texas Rural Heritage Museum in Pittsburg, was instrumental in bringing emergency medical services to the area, built firetrucks for the city, helped push for U.S. 271 to become a four-lane highway and was on the charter committee that developed the East Texas Council of Governments.
"He's going to leave a void that we won't be able to fill," his son said. "The accomplishments he made are going to benefit the citizenry around here for years to come."
Abernathy was born and raised in Pittsburg, the great-grandnephew of the town's founder, W.H. Pitts. After graduating from Oklahoma University in the 1930s, he worked for an Oklahoma facility that tested ammunition for World War II.
After the war he returned to Pittsburg and got a job for what was then known as Lone Star Steel Co. He retired in 1977 as division manager.
A few years after moving back home, Abernathy got involved in the town's politics. He served as a council member from 1949 until 1954, when he was elected mayor. He held that position until 2006 and has been recognized for his service with numerous awards. He was recognized by the state Senate three times.
On Friday, Abernathy's family is holding a visitation in the house he was born in, on Quitman Street. His funeral will be 2 p.m. Saturday at the First United Methodist Church in Pittsburg, with burial in Rose Hill cemetery.
The mark Abernathy made on Pittsburg will be around for decades to come, his son said.
"His legacy is going to far outlive the memory of him."
Brod
Mary A. Brod, born Nov. 26, 1922, to Otis B. and Martha Jacobs went to meet her Lord in heaven on March 17, 2000. Mary was a vibrant person, full of life and helpful to others. For years, Mary worked as a bookkeeper for a pharmacy, still finding time to raise a family and volunteer for the Ladies Auxiliary for the Lewisville Volunteer Fire Department. She was also a devoted member of the First Baptist Church of Lewisville where she helped care for the children in the nursery. Mary loved children and was heard often to say how proud she was of her grandchildren. She is preceded in death by her parents, her husband H.L. Brod, her brother, Jack William Jacobs.
Mary is survived by her three children, Judy and Sam Ragsdale, Betty and Mickey Butler, Michael and Debbi Brod; one brother, O.B. Jacobs; two sisters-in-law, Amy Baker and Helen Jacobs; her beloved grandchildren, Jonathan and David Butler, Jordan and Joshua Brod, Daniel and Hillary Ragsdale; several nieces and nephews and numerous friends.
Mary will be dearly missed by all whose lives she touched.
Visitation was held from 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday, March 19, 2000, at Dalton and Son Funeral Home. Services were held 2 p.m. Monday, March 20, 2000, at First Baptist Church of Lewisville. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the First Baptist Church of Lewisville.
Tandy Barnes
Services for Tandy Barnes of Longview will be held at 11 a.m. Jan 9, 1998 at Bigham Funeral Chapel with the Rev. Harold Thompson and the Rev. J.B. Dunlap officiating. Burial will be in Perry-Clay cemetery under the direction of Bigham Mortuary. Mr. Barnes died Sunday at a local hospital.
Victoria B. Carpenter
Services for Victoria B. Carpenter of Longview will be held at 11 a.m. Jan. 10, 1998 at Bethel Baptist Church with the Rev. Lonnie L. Williams officiating. Burial will be in Grace Hill cemetery under the direction of Citizens Funeral Home. Mrs. Carpenter, a retired educator and a Baptist, died Saturday at a local hospital. She was born in Gregg County.
Survivors include two sisters, Frankie Hutchings of Longview and Barbara Keppler of Sacramento, Calif., and one grandson.
